I don’t do plants. I have nothing against them. I love the colors of flowers and the scent of the herbs in our window. But I can’t own plants.
I have a black thumb. It’s so bad that when our daughter Joy lived at home, if she saw someone approaching to give me a plant, she would run blockage. “NO,” she would wail, “Don’t give that to my mother. If you do, it will DIE!”
Sadly, she wasn’t exaggerating. I don’t even have to touch a plant. Somehow, if a plant simply knows it belongs to me—even though Les takes care of it—it crokes. Truly. So every plant in our house is Les’s.
As spring has finally arrived, I love looking at what’s growing in our yard and in our neighbors’. I love seeing the buds being produced on the trees.
Because I love trees. I am a tree hugger from way back. I don’t own them. I just enjoy them. Their solidness. The air around them. Their fragrance. I’m often most calm and content in a forest.
The benefits of trees go far beyond their beauty. They can help restore communities and combat poverty. Plant with Purpose is a charity that helps rural communities that have been impoverished due to deforestation. As they describe it, “Deforestation leads to serious erosion, causing soil depletion, water pollution, and increased vulnerability to storms and other disasters. The continued decline in productivity then leads to more tree cutting, creating a vicious cycle of poverty and deforestation.”
Plant with Purpose assists vulnerable communities by working “alongside farmers to restore their land and anchor the soil through reforestation and conservation techniques.” Here are the benefits, according to their website:
- Nitrogen-fixing trees add nutrients to the soil.
- Fruit trees provide a source of nutrition and income.
- Forest trees create longevity and improve biodiversity.
- The end result is increased crop production and improved resilience during disasters.
If you love plants and trees, whether you can grow them yourself or not, Plant with Purpose might be a good fit charity for you. You can even pick the community you wish to help.
Plant for change with Plant for Purpose and know that a community will flourish.